Her Knight in Shining Glasses
by Cara Beatrice Green
Summary: AU where Milo doesn't get with Kida and instead returns with the crew. A new adventure awaits! Rated T for reasons. I do not approve of MiloxKida. I feel their relationship was way too rushed. Thus my fanfic appears. MiloxOC.
1. Chapter 1

**I do not own Milo Thatch or anything relating to Atlantis. I do however own Astrid Mortlake. Enjoy!**

It was just another day in the life of Milo Thatch. A boring day that is. Compared to all of the action he went through in Atlantis, going back to being a janitor was not nearly as exciting. Especially since he promised Kida he would never prove to anyone of Atlantis's existence. As he finished mopping the main entry hall of the Smithsonian Institute, Milo looked back on the day he returned to the states. He remembered saying goodbye to Kida and the Atlantians as he helped the crew pack up the narwhale sub to head home. He heard the last words Kida had spoken to him echo through his mind.

"I will never forget you Milo Thatch." she had said.

And in truth he could never forget her. She had been the first person in his life to not think he was absolutely crazy and a great friend. The intercom came on, pulling him away from his reminiscing.

"Thatch?"

"Yes?"

"The boiler's acting up again, Thatch. We need you to fix it right away."

"Alright." Milo let out a deep sigh, and walked down the hall towards the basement where the boiler was. When he was finished adjusting everything, he gave it a good hit with his wrench. After a loud *clang* it was back in working order.

"Better?" asked Milo.

"Yes." And with out even a 'thank you' the man hung up. Milo grumbled something about 'manners' under his breath then glanced up at the clock above the chalkboard. It read 6:00pm.

"Well I guess it's time to go home and feed Fluffy." he said to himself. He packed up his briefcase, changed out of his uniform, and walked up the stairs leading out of his basement office. As he walked out into the hall he heard laughing.

"Oh, great..." he muttered under his breath. He peered around the corner and sure enough a group of directors were nearly doubling over with laughter. When they spotted him their chortles grew.

"Speak of the devil, here comes Mr. Atlantis himself!" one pointed.

"Where's your evidence now boy?" another ridiculed. 'Walk it off Thatch. They haven't seen what you have.' he thought to himself. 'Their words should mean nothing to you.' And yet he felt tears welling up in his eyes.

"What's the matter Mr. Fix-it? You gonna go cry to momma? Oh that's right. You don't have one!" That did it. Milo's fist collided with the trash-talker's face, giving him a bloody nose. Another man retaliated by hitting Milo in the knee with his cane. There was a loud crack and Milo's hands automatically clutched his knee as he cried out in pain. A third man took advantage of this and threw a punch to Milo's face causing him to fall backwards and land on the hard, tile floor. Blood dripped from Milo's mouth and he felt a black-eye forming. He tried to get up but, his injured knee gave in and he again found himself on the floor.

"Had enough Mr. Atlantis? Now go scrub the facilities." And with that they walked off, laughing all the way.

Milo noticed his spectacles were not on his face and began blindly feeling for them with his hands. Someone who appeared a blur to Milo picked them up and took his hand. After flipping his hand over she lay them in his open palm. He took them and carefully adjusted them back on his nose.

"Thanks, Astrid." Milo said bashfully. She helped him up and noticed him cringing as he stood.

"What happened to you?" Her royal blue eyes then noticed the blood on his mouth and his black-eye. "Oh Milo," she sighed. She pulled out her handkerchief and gently wiped the blood from his lips. Astrid repeated her question.

"Don't worry about it." he replied. She gave him a look that seemed to say, 'Seriously'. "Well," he began. "I may have gotten into another fight." She stopped him there.

"Again! Milo when will you learn to just ignore them?"

"They brought up my mother, Astrid..." Astrid's expression softened. She knew Milo's dead parents was a sensitive topic. So she changed the subject.

"Did you start up the Atlantis thing again?" she asked.

"No." he replied. Astrid was not a believer in Atlantis, but she wasn't a jerk about it either. 'If only she knew' he thought.

"Do you want me to walk you home?" She offered.

"I'll be ok." he said. "G'bye, Astrid."

"Bye, Milo." she said smiling. Milo could not help but blush as he smiled back.

Then he limped away without even looking back.

"Damn it, Milo! Get a hold of yourself! She would never fall for a clumsy nerd like you!" he quietly cursed to himself. He was so engrossed in talking to himself that he didn't hear Astrid calling his name. She tried to catch up to him but he had already limped out the door and across the street to his apartment.

**So what do you think? It's an idea I've had in my head for a long time and I thought why not share it? So R&R. All your reviews keep me motivated! So yeah. Enjoy. Will update soon!**


	2. Chapter 2

**I do not own Milo Thatch or anything relating to Atlantis. I do however own Astrid Mortlake. Enjoy!**

Milo looked for his key to his apartment room door. He had checked all his pockets, including the ones on his trench coat. He checked his briefcase. He even checked inside his shoes. He seemed to have everything but his key.

"Damn it! Am I going to have to call the locksmith again?" He cursed and banged his head hard on the door. Though as soon as he did, the door swung wide open, causing him to fall head first on the floor. He hit his bad knee as well and Milo moaned loudly as the pain returned full blast. When it had died down he limped over to the light switch and pulled it. The lights flickered for a moment or two then came on. 'Home sweet home' he thought to himself.

The apartment wasn't much. It had a little kitchen with a bar and bar stools instead of a dining area. There was a small living room with a two-seater couch, an end table with a lamp, and an old bookshelf that used to belong to his dad. His bedroom was even smaller than the living room. It had a double bed with a quilt his mom made before she passed away. The windows had matching curtains and there was a tiny dresser that he could barely fit all his clothes in. There was a one-person bathroom that served its purpose when he didn't have to work on the plumbing (he couldn't afford to pay someone else to do it). It wasn't much but it was home.

Milo hung his coat on the coat rack as he walked across the living room to the kitchen. He opened up his fridge and found everything but the fruit he bought yesterday had gone bad.

"Great, just great." he muttered. After cleaning out all of the expired stuff and using the bathroom, Milo grabbed an apple and walked over to the kitchen sink to rinse it. As he turned the cold valve, water suddenly burst out of the nozzle and splashed Milo in the face. By the time he turned the water off, the floor was soaked and so was he. Just then, there was a soft knock at the door. Milo splashed through the puddles and opened the door.

"Hi, Mil... Oh goodness! What happened?" Astrid inquired, when she noticed all the water dripping off of Milo.

"The kitchen sink is busted." he said, pointing his thumb over his shoulder.

"Are you going to call someone to fix it?"

"I can't really afford it. _I'll_ have to fix it myself." Milo stated matter-of-factly.

"Is anything else broken?"

"Well, no. Not really. But the thing about this place is, if it isn't broken, it still needs to be fixed." as he said this, he looked down at his wet shoes shamefully.

"Why haven't you filed a complaint?" Astrid seemed to be full of questions today.

"You have to remember, Astrid. I'm just a janitor. I can't afford luxuries like lawyers and repairmen. I mean, have you seen the crumby apartment I live in? This place is falling apart!"

"Milo Thatch, _you_ have to remember!" she scolded. "You are a talented linguist; probably one of the best. I mean, you're only 32 and you're fluent in every language out there! And not only that; you're a cartographer as well! Your map-making skills excel those who are 30 years older than you! You're great enough to be a professor at Stayer University! Quit your job and get another where your true talents can be put to use!"

"I would love to quit my job, Astrid, I really would. But you left out one important detail..."

Milo sighed before continuing. "Everyone thinks I'm crazy because the Atlantis expedition was a failure." How he wished he could tell her the truth. Would she believe him if he did?

"Milo, you are not crazy. A little misguided, maybe. But not crazy." Milo smiled a little at her statement and shivered. He was getting cold from being so wet.

"I need to fix the sink and clean up." he said, giving her the cue that she should leave.

"Ok. I'll see you around." she started to leave, but came back and laid something small on the counter. "Thought you might need your key. It must have fallen out of your pocket when they were bullying you." she said, referring to the directors who beat him up.

"Bye, Milo. Think about my advice, ok?" she waved and then closed the door.

Milo sighed deeply, rubbed his forehead and limped to the kitchen to get started on the sink.


	3. Chapter 3

**I do not own Milo Thatch or anything relating to Atlantis. I do however own Astrid Mortlake. Enjoy!**

It took about 2 hours to get everything done. It turned out that the pipes were so rusted that a few holes had begun to show up. Milo knew the best he could do was take some strips of gauze and duct tape them over the affected areas. He also noticed the grease trap was clogged. He found that a little ironic. Later, when Milo was finished bandaging the pipes, cleaning all the black gunk out of the grease trap, and mopping the floor, he not only was in desperate need of bath but in desperate need of sleep as well. He was exhausted from playing Mr. Fix-it, especially since he had to continue his work at home.

He trudged tiredly to the bathroom, and filled the tub with hot water. After getting out of his soggy, black-spotted clothes, he allowed himself to slowly sink into the steaming water. The bath was quite welcoming and helped calm his stressed-out body. It also numbed his fractured knee, which was very beneficial.

Done with his cleansing, Milo put on some striped boxers and a white muscle shirt. He knew he didn't need to cover the upper part of his body, but he had his reasons. Ever since high school, Milo had always been self-conscious about his appearance. Being the class nerd and all had done a lot of damage to his self-esteem. He had no friends. He never had a date for prom. Heck, he never even had a girlfriend. Even in college the only interactions he had had with the opposite sex were when girls asked if they could copy his paper. Sure it wasn't fair but it was life. And Milo had come to terms with it long ago.

However, on the first day of his new job he met Astrid Mortlake, the curator's daughter who also happened to live in the same apartment complex. From then on, he noticed there was something different about her. She never made fun of him or his profession never asked him for ridiculously, tedious favors, and not once did she treat him with disrespect. That is what made her different. She respected him. And they soon became good friends.

But although she respected him, she did not agree with his 'proof' of Atlantis's existence. He remembered the day the board wrongfully declined his proposal. Right before he began practicing his meeting, she had approached him. But instead of wishing him good luck, something else was said entirely.

"Milo, please don't do this. You know they won't believe you. You'll only be hurting yourself."

"Astrid, this meeting will change my life! With the new proof I've found, they're bound to fund the expedition. I will no longer be the nerdy janitor everyone jokes about. People will finally show me respect."

"Milo, listen. They say if the economy doesn't get better, within the next 20 years there will be a depression. This means they cannot fund an expedition without good, solid proof."

"Wait; you mean to say my evidence of Atlantis isn't good enough? Astrid, I thought you believed me?"

"I'm sorry Milo. But I stopped believing in fairytales a long time ago."

"Atlantis isn't a fairytale, Astrid! I can prove it!" Milo began to raise his voice.

"Yes it is. It's just a children's bedtime story. And all children eventually need to grow up."

"I'm not a child! I'm 32 years old! I can tell when something is real or not! And Atlantis is real!" He was shouting at this point and people were staring.

"Milo, stop! It isn't cute anymore! Your obsession has gotten way out of hand!"

"I'm not obsessed!" He completely ignored the fact that she had just called him 'cute'.

"Oh, grow up, Milo!"

"Oh, get a life, Astrid! You're 25 and you don't even have a job. You dropped out of high school sophomore year!" But he immediately regretted his words.

"YOU JERK! YOU PROMISED YOU WOULDN'T TELL ANYONE!" Tears poured down Astrid's blushing face. And with that, she ran out the door and didn't even look back.

Milo knew in his heart that Astrid had a good reason to be angry with him. Her older brother, James, who fought in the Philippine American War, had been badly injured, and was sent home. Doctors had to amputate both legs and told James he was going to be in a wheelchair for the rest of his life. Their parents both worked full-time jobs, so poor Astrid, who was only a teenager at the time, quit school to take care of her only sibling. And she had been his care giver ever since.

Even though they had both apologized, Milo had never truly forgiven himself. Countless times he would ask himself why he been a total jerk to her. He knew she had only said those things because she cared. _He_ had only said those things because he was being a stubborn pain in the ass about it. He had definitely let his temper get the best of him. Milo knew if he had ever had a chance with Astrid it was long gone.

**Yeah pretty emotional chapter, but at least you get a bit of Astrid's back story.**

**Please R&R!**


	4. Chapter 4

**I do not own Milo Thatch or anything relating to Atlantis. I do however own Astrid Mortlake. Enjoy!**

That night, Milo couldn't sleep. He tossed and turned, causing the blanket and bed sheets to tangle around his body. At some point, he rolled over too far and fell on the floor, covers and all.

He groaned as he lifted himself up from the floor. "Maybe I should have taken myself to the doctor." He said as he wobbled after standing up. He checked his knee, and noticed it had swelled up and was forming a rather large and nasty bruise. "Not that I would be able to pay for it." he mumbled as he limped to the bathroom. He took a look in the mirror and noticed his eye right away. "Now that is most certainly a shiner." After grabbing two ice packs, he went back to bed to try and get some sleep.

The alarm clock on his bedside table went off at 6:00am. Unfortunately, Milo didn't wake up until 6:25am. He let out a groan as he pressed down the switch that made the bells stop ringing. Though when he saw what time it was, he immediately pushed aside his exhaustion, and got ready for work, not even allowing himself breakfast.

When Milo walked through the doors of the Smithsonian, everyone gawked and stared at him. And because of Milo's lack of sleep, he responded grouchily.

"What are you looking at?" he asked sarcastically. Everyone pretended to go back to what they were doing, but when Milo wasn't looking they went back to staring and started whispering among themselves. He then shot them a few nasty glares. That shut them up.

As Milo walked down the hall to the basement, he bumped into the curator, however not literally.

"Are you ok, Thatch? You look as if you were hit by a truck." asked the curator, concerned.

"I _feel_ as if I've been hit by a truck, Mr. Mortlake."

"Are you sure you can work today? Maybe you should take the day off."

"I should be ok." Milo responded regrettably. He wanted so bad to go home and rest. But, he knew that if he didn't work he wouldn't get paid.

Just then Astrid walked up, smiling brightly. Her lightbrown hair was bouncing in its ponytail. Though when she saw Milo, her smile quickly faded.

"Oh my gosh, Milo. You look awful." She grabbed his hand. "Come on, I'm taking you to the doctor."

"Right now? I have work, Astrid."

"Forget it. You're going, and I'm not taking 'no' for an answer."

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"So tell me how this happened." said Dr. Richards.

"Well yesterday I got in a fight and my knee was injured. I also received a black eye."

"Have been getting enough sleep?"

"Last night, I couldn't sleep well." replied Milo.

"Anything else?"

"No. That's it."

"Very well. We will run a few tests and will x-ray your knee." After all the excruciatingly long tests and an even longer wait, Dr. Richards came back with the results, and a cane. "You are very lucky Mr. Thatch. You only have a small knee fracture. You will only need this cane for about a week. About your black-eye, apply this cream every night before bed. As for your sleep issue, I suggest you go home and get some rest. And no work for a week. Just take it slow until then."

Milo opened his mouth as if to protest, but the doctor held up his hand. "Right now the most important thing is for you to get better." the doctor said.

Milo and Astrid were about to make their way out the door, when Dr. Richards spoke again. "One more thing Mr. Thatch. Our head doctor said you were a good friend of his and he paid for all your medical expenses."

"Who is your head doctor?" Milo asked, suddenly curious.

"Dr. Joshua Sweet."


	5. Chapter 5

**I only own Astrid Mortlake. Everything else is owned by Disney.**

"What's with you, Milo?" asked Astrid. "You're acting as if you won the Nobel Prize." But Milo was ignoring her completely.

"I can't believe it! Sweet is here in D.C.! And I thought I would never get to see the team again!"

Milo continued to ramble, lost in his own world. Astrid waved her hand in his face, bringing him back from his trance.

"Milo, what are you talking about? What team?" Milo was quiet for a moment, debating whether or not he should tell her about his companions on the Atlantis expedition.

"Well,?" she persisted.

"It's kind of a long story, Astrid. And I need to get home and feed Fluffy." he said, referring to his pet cat.

"I'll go with you then. You can tell me the story on the way. I live in the same building anyway"

"I'm not in the mood for storytelling at the moment."

"How about when we get to the apartment? Will you be in the mood then?" Milo knew Astrid was not going to give up until he agreed. He let out an annoyed sigh as he rolled his eyes.

"Alright, deal."

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Milo unlocked his door and led Astrid into the living room. He gave the light switch a good pull and sparks showered from above.

"Aw damn it! The light bulb burnt out." he cursed, stating the obvious. "I know I have some replacement bulbs around here somewhere. Be right back." He went to the kitchen to retrieve a new bulb from the cabinet above the fridge. Having long skinny arms had its advantages for even though he was short, it didn't take much stretching to get the package down from its place.

"Do me a favor and pull the switch again. I don't feel like getting electrocuted" he said to Astrid. She did as she was told and Milo replaced the bulb. The light flickered on after he pulled the switch again. Astrid sat down on the couch and waited for Milo to begin his story. But first, Milo took a framed picture from the bookshelf and brought it over to show her. It was a photo of the crew he met on his journey that eventually became his life-long friends. Sad to say though, after they returned from Atlantis, the team went their separate ways. Milo explained this to Astrid as she quietly listened, however laughing at some parts. He told her about each of them, and of the adventure they had shared. Of course he had to lie about certain parts, but most of what he said was true. He knew he could never forget them.

"So do you still talk to them?"

"I still receive letters from Audrey once in a while. Vinnie too. Cookie mails me all sorts of recipes with grease as the main ingredient." When he said 'grease', Milo made a disgusted face, and Astrid laughed a little. "Mrs. Packard calls me sometimes though when she does, she doesn't seem to know the meaning of 'bye'. She will talk non-stop if you let her. I haven't heard from Sweet since about a month ago, but I can understand why; he is a doctor after all. And I bet he wanted to surprise me with the fact that he was in town."

"Not much of a surprise anymore is it?" She was being sarcastic of course. He shook his head as his mind began to reminisce. He didn't realize that tears were streaming down his face. "What's wrong?" Astrid's voice broke the silence and brought Milo back to the present.

"Nothing. I must have something in my eye." he lied at first but spoke again. "I really miss them. They were like a family to me."

"It will be alright. They will always be in your heart and memories."

"Jeez, Astrid. They're not dead. They're just..." Milo trailed off. Astrid glanced at the clock on the wall.

"It's getting late. I better go back to 107, and make dinner for my brother." she stated. She walked to the door. "Bye, Milo. Thanks for telling me about your friends."

"Bye, Astrid." Astrid left and Milo was alone. He heard a soft meow and looked down to see his cat. "Well, I guess its dinner time, eh Fluffy?" He walked to the kitchen to prepare a meal for himself and his pet.


	6. Chapter 6

Since he could not go to work for a while, Milo decided he would catch up on his reading. He always wanted to read the Jules Verne books his grandfather had given him. As he was reading 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, he realized how much similarity there was between the book and his own journey he had experienced two months ago. He discovered that most of the stories by the author seemed to relate to his adventure in many ways. It was almost as if the books were about him. Creepy.

By the time he had finished reading the collection, his knee was fully healed and it was time to ditch the cane and go back to work. His vacation was over.

"Why good morning, Mr. Thatch. I see your eye has returned to its normal coloring. And your knee must be healed as you are no longer using the cane."

"I'm feeling better, that's for sure. How have you been, Mr. Mortlake?"

"Just fine. Well I suppose I should get back to work. Goodbye, Mr. Thatch." And they walked to their working stations.

Milo strolled over to his locker and used his combination on the padlock. The locker was not in the best of shape. It had blue paint peeling off and was covered with dents and scratches. However, it served its purpose. He finally got it open and took his uniform off its hanger. He undressed and stepped into the legs of the jumpsuit. After pulling the zipper up to the top, he folded the collar and fastened the belt around the middle. Lastly, he pulled on his work-boots. As he hung up his regular clothes, he glanced at the personal touches he had added to his locker. There was a photo of him and his grandfather, some vacation pictures, and the crystal necklace given to him by Kida. He slipped it over his head and held it up to his face. It still glowed a bright blue and he immediately became mesmerized.

The phone rang, and woke Milo from his trance. He closed his locker and rushed to answer it.

"Thatch."

"Yes, Mr. Simmons?"

"Some kid threw-up near the caveman exhibit. Go clean it up!"

"Yes, Mr. Simmons." Milo hung up. "It just _had_ to be puke." Milo grumbled. "Ugh, oh well. Duty calls." He grabbed the mop and bucket from the supply closet and walked up the stairs leading out of the basement, not even realizing that the crystal was still hanging around his neck.

Milo was just finished cleaning up the vomit, when Mr. Harcort caught sight of him. He was carrying a slice of cake and a cup of coffee.

"Well if isn't young Thatch."

"What do you want Mr. Harcort?"

"Is that anyway to speak to the head director?" Mr. Harcort asked boastfully. "How about we try some manners this time?"

"What can I do for you, sir?" Milo spoke through clenched teeth.

"Well for starters, you can clean this up." And he dumped the cake and coffee onto the area where Milo had just mopped. Mr. Harcort laughed and pointed at the mess.

"Whoops, looks like you missed a spot. Better get to work." This angered Milo quite a bit. However, he did his best to keep his cool. He began cleaning up the sticky goop, and tried to ignore the chuckling moron. But Mr. Harcort was far from finished. As soon as he spotted the glowing crystal hanging from Milo's neck, his laughter grew.

"Say Thatch, where'd you get the rock?" Instantly, Milo looked down and realized that he had never taken off his Atlantian pendant. "It's awfully pretty. Must be a diamond. Did you steal it?" Milo didn't answer. Instead, he hastily tried to tuck it inside his uniform. "Ah, so a janitor's pay isn't good enough for you. Well, you do know I was told to report any thief who dared to steal from the museum. And you made such a good little janitor, Thatch."

Milo panicked. What was he going to do? As much as he hated it, he didn't want to lose his job. Or go to prison for that matter.

"Please, don't tell anyone! I could get arrested for grand theft! They'll really think I stole it!"

"But you did steal it. Why should I let you get away with such thievery?"

"Because I'm telling the truth. It was given to me by...a very good friend of mine."

"Oh, really? And who would that be?"

"Me." They looked around to find where the voice came from. Their eyes fell on Astrid Mortlake. She stepped towards Milo.

"Astrid, what are you doing?" Milo half whispered half shouted.

"Saving your rear." she replied.

"Young lady, what on earth are you talking about?" Mr. Harcort interrupted.

"I gave him the diamond, sir. It was a gift."

"And where did you find such a diamond?"

"I bought it from..." Milo watched helplessly as their conversation escalated. He couldn't believe Astrid was lying for him. Finally, Mr. Harcort cleared his throat.

"Very well. If what you say is true, then I see no reason to have you arrested. Good day, Ms. Mortlake." And he walked off. Astrid turned to Milo, with a disappointed look on her face and her arms crossed.

"You better have a good explanation behind this, Milo Thatch." Milo sighed deeply.

"Astrid, it's time I told you what really happened on that expedition."


	7. Chapter 7

When Milo's shift was over, he and Astrid walked across the street to the Twin Brook Apartment complex. While they both lived in the same complex, Astrid's room was much nicer. It was on the first floor so that her brother could easily wheel up and down the small amount of stairs. It had quite a few more windows than Milo's and two bedrooms, so they each had their own privacy. It had more space too. There was more than enough for James to use his wheelchair in each room. Yes, Hue Mortlake made quite sure his son and daughter could live comfortably.

However, room 107 was way different than 355. 355, well that's all a janitor's pay could afford. Milo unlocked the door and Astrid walked in. After closing the door, he joined her on the couch.

Milo filled Astrid in on all the details he purposefully hid from her the last time he told his story. He told her how they had in fact found the lost city buried deep under the sea. How surprised they were to find it inhabited. How he had befriended the king's daughter. And how in the end he and the rest of the crew had risked their lives to save Atlantis from total destruction. Milo regrettably informed her how far Rourke had gone to ensure he'd get the Heart of Atlantis. He had tricked Milo into finding the Crystal for him and caused Kida to merge with it. He murdered the king. He took the Crystal away from Atlantis even after learning it was the only thing keeping the Atlantians alive. He threw Lt. Helga Sinclair (who just so happened to be his partner) off the blimp after Vinny blew a hole in it. And Rourke would have killed Milo had he not have been turned into a crystal and shattered in the blades of the blimp. Of course Milo told Astrid that that part had been a total accident and he was only defending himself.

When he was finished Astrid shook her head and sighed disappointedly.

"What makes you think I should believe anything you just said?" she asked.

"Because it's the truth." Milo replied.

"Prove it." Milo had prepared for this answer and took off his crystal pendant. He pulled the light switch. The Atlantian pendant lit up the apartment room in a bright, fluorescent, blue. "How on earth are you doing that?" Astrid asked in complete awe.

"It's the crystal. It's in sync with the Heart of Atlantis. My crystal will continue to glow as long as Atlantis is safe." He explained. But he wasn't finished. Milo turned the light back on and walked over to the bookshelf to take the photo of the crew from its place. He sat down on the couch next to Astrid and began fumbling with the frame.

"Uh Milo? You already showed that to me." she said, referring to the photo he was having difficulty pulling out of the frame.

"You haven't seen the whole picture yet." he stated as he finally freed the photo from its frame. Astrid never noticed, partially because the frame did well to hide it, but the picture was folded at the top and right side.

"Why didn't you put it in a bigger frame?" she asked, confused.

"Because I needed to hide this." Milo replied. He unfolded the creases and rubbed them against his trousers to flatten them out. The unfolded parts of the photo revealed a giant, stone narwhale in the background and a white haired woman with strange clothing standing to the right of the crew. She was wearing a crystal like Milo and Astrid already knew who she was.

"The Atlantian princess..." she gasped.

"Kida..." Milo whispered, with a misty look in his eyes.


	8. Chapter 8

It was 8:00pm by the time the reminiscing was over. Milo's cat was meowing loudly.

"Must be past Fluffy's feeding time." Milo stated the obvious. Then his stomach rumbled noisily. He blushed and smiled sheepishly.

"Guess you are just as hungry as your cat." Astrid teased playfully. Milo chuckled awkwardly and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Yeah, I guess." He said. He stood up and made his way to the kitchen but stopped. Summoning all the courage he could muster, he turned to face Astrid. "Would you like to stay for dinner?" She didn't answer at first and Milo was sure she was going to say no. She got up and walked towards the door but to his surprise turned around and smiled.

"I'll be back; I need to let my father and James know that I'll be having dinner with a friend tonight." And then she went to do just that. Milo just stood there dumbfounded. A lot of things went through his mind at once. Most of them were questions. But one stood out from them all.

"Is that all I will ever be; just a friend?"

Milo made some sandwiches while Astrid prepared a light salad. They listened to classical music on Milo's phonogram as they worked. It wasn't long before dinner was ready and they enjoyed it greatly despite it being only a small meal. They were quiet as they cleaned up the tiny kitchen. All you could hear was the music flowing through the room. That is, until Milo broke the silence between them.

"Have you ever been offered a chance to do something great, but you pass on it instead?" When Astrid just looked at him questionably he continued. "Before I left Atlantis, Kida told me to stay and help her return the city to it's former glory. But I turned down her offer. I guess it was because I was afraid."

"Afraid of what?" asked Astrid.

"Mostly change. Not to mention the responsibility of being the one to teach a whole civilization traditions from over a hundred years ago." Milo sighed. "I just didn't think I could handle it. I thought it best to stick with the place I felt most comfortable with. So I chose to...to..."

"To come back to D.C." Astrid finished for him. "What ever happened to the journal?"

"I gave it to Kida, so she could be the one to resurrect Atlantis's culture. Turns out when she returned from the crystal, she remembered the city's past knowledge. She was crowned Queen and the rest is history. Astrid, I'm afraid I made a terrible mistake."

"I don't understand. What mistake?" she asked.

"I should have stayed in Atlantis. There I was a hero. I could put my skills to good use. And people actually took me seriously. Here I'm just a joke. The clumsy janitor who can't catch a break." Milo closed his eyes to keep the tears in, but to no avail. Astrid laid her hands on his shoulders and massaged them gently.

"Don't beat yourself up, Milo. Just remember; when one door closes two more open. You will have plenty of chances to turn your life around. And I'll be right here to help get you through it. You won't have to go it alone. I promise." Milo turned and smiled at her.

"Thanks, Astrid."


	9. Chapter 9

Days went by and just when Milo felt he was finally getting over his shyness towards Astrid, fate took an unexpected turn...

One foggy Saturday morning, Milo walked down to the train station to collect a package for the museum. It was an artifact that had been discovered in a small country in Asia. Famous archeologist, Hunter West was said to have found it among temple ruins.

All Milo knew was, the institute was making such a big deal out of it, they were even throwing a company ball to celebrate. Milo hated parties. It wasn't that he didn't know how to dance. He had taken dance classes before, particularly with a partner. That was the problem. Milo was always at a loss when it came to having a dance partner. He could dance all night if he had someone to dance _with_.

But what he really wasn't looking forward to was after the party. Cleaning the institute on a normal day was bad enough, but after a party? It would be a horrendous task that would take all night to accomplish. And being a janitor, guess who was on clean up duty? Just thinking about the task that lay ahead made Milo wince.

"Something wrong, chap?" Milo snapped back to reality and realized he was making a face at the station master. He smiled nervously.

"Uh, I'm supposed to pick up a package for the Smithsonian Institute?"

"Ah, yes; you must be Mr. Thatch. Your package hasn't arrived yet."

"What do you mean it 'hasn't arrived yet'?" Milo asked.

"Don't worry; it should be here any minute now." assured the station master as he glanced at the clock on the wall. As if on cue, a shiny black train with light blue trimming pulled into the station. Its silver whistle blew a long note to announce its arrival. A tall young man hopped off the train and walked into the station office.

"Benny, when are you going to acknowledge my arrival?" he asked the station master, ignoring Milo's existence.

"My apologies; Mr. Thatch, this is Dimitri Petrov. He is the engineer of the train carrying your package." Milo and Dimitri studied each other for a moment or two. Finally the station master chuckled nervously and broke the silence. "While you two get acquainted, I will retrieve your package, Mr. Thatch." And with that he walked off in the direction of the train.

"So, Dimitri, how did you become an engineer at such a young age?" Milo asked.

Instead of a respectful reply, Milo received a scowl and a few choice words in Russian.

"Hey, there is no reason to be rude." he scolded. "I was only trying to make conversation."

"How is it you understand my language?" Dimitri said narrowing his eyes at Milo.

"I'm a linguist, that's my job."

"And yet, you are dressed as porter..." the Russian acknowledged Milo's coveralls.

"I work as a janitor, but my whole life I've studied cartography and linguistics."

"I see."

"We just met and you're already treating me like your rival? Why?"

"Because you are American man. My father was killed by American man.

"I'm sorry for your loss." Milo said as his eyes went glossy. "My father is dead too. Both he and my mother died when I was just a little kid." The raven-haired Russian went silent for moment.

"Well I must be going. Dasvidoniya! And Dimitri walked off towards the train. The station master arrived just as it chugged off.

"Sorry it took so long. The box was buried at the bottom of the cargo drop- off." The station master paused when he saw Milo's facial expression. "Did I miss something?"

When Milo got back to the Museum, he noticed how quiet it was. No one was around but the lady at the front desk. He walked up to the desk and got her attention.

"Excuse me but, where is everyone?" he asked her.

"The head director let everyone go home early so the museum could be prepped for tomorrow night's ball. That is, everyone but the custodians and secretaries. I'm sad to say we will be the ones doing the prepping. The head director said to give you this list of tasks he wants done." She handed Milo the list of tedious cleaning duties to complete. "He also said to make sure the boiler is in good working order all night during the ball. Now if you excuse me, I need to call the caterers." She picked up the phone and began dialing the number.

"What do I do with the package?" Milo asked.

"Just set it up in the rainforest exhibit." she replied. Milo walked down the hall to the exhibit but suddenly he stopped. He saw Astrid talking to someone. 'Now's your chance Milo. Ask her to go to the ball with you.' He waited until the other person walked off then made his way to Astrid.

"I need to ask you something." he told her.

"I need to ask you something too." she said.

"You first." said Milo.

"Ok. Well, will you to teach me how to dance?"

"I thought you already knew how to dance."

"No. I wasn't expecting to be asked so I figured I didn't need lessons. But now I'm going to look so stupid in front of Dimitri..."

"Dimitri?" Milo interupted.

"Yeah. He asked if I would go to the ball with him. Mr. Harcourt invited him to the company ball as a thanks for bringing the artifact back safely." she replied.

"And what did you say?"

"I said yes of course. He's such a dream. Especially with that Russian accent of his. But if I don't learn how to dance, I'll make a total fool of myself!" Milo stared at the floor. 'How could I be such idiot?' he silently cursed himself.

"So will you help me?" Astrid pleaded.

"Of course I will." Milo replied, trying his best to hide his disappointment.

"Great! Now what was your question?"

"It wasn't anything important." he said. He felt as though someone had punched him in the stomach.

"Oh, ok. So tomorrow morning?"

"Yeah."

"Alright, see you then." she skipped happily down the hall and out of sight.


End file.
